Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: David Shields skated in 61 games in his second season with the Erie Otters, scoring 1 goal, 16 assists for 17 points. He earned 5 PIMs but no points in 5 playoff games.

2009-10: Shields scored 7 goals and 12 assists for 19 points in 68 games with Erie, amassing 42 PIMs in the process. He appeared in 4 playoff games with no points and 12 PIMs.

2010-11: Shields was the second-leading scorer amongst defensemen and had a team-high plus-29 plus/minus despite missing seven games for the Erie Otters in his fourth OHL season. In 61 games he had 6 goals with 21 assists and 48 PMs. Erie reached the playoffs after finishing third in the Midwest Division. In the Otters’ seven-game first round series with defending Memorial Cup champion Windsor, Shields scored 1 goal with 4 assists and was minus-8 with 4 PMs. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with St. Louis in March 2011.

2011-12: Shields began his first pro season with the Blues ECHL affiliate Anchorage before being re-called by AHL Peoria in November. Playing primarily a defense-first game with Peoria, he was minus-4 with 4 assists and had 10 penalty minutes in 48 games. Peoria missed the AHL playoffs after finishing fourth in the Midwest Division. In 12 games with Anchorage he scored 1 goal with 5 assists and was plus-1 with 2 penalty minutes. Shields returned to the Aces for the ECHL playoffs and was plus-1 with 2 assists in three games.

2012-13: Shields skated in 59 games for St. Louis AHL affiliate Peoria in his second pro season. Playing a stay-at-home role for a defense unit that used 15 players during the season, he had 5 assists and was minus-9 with 41 penalty minutes. The Rivermen missed the AHL playoffs after finishing last in the Midwest Division.

2013-14: Shields skated for St. Louis AHL affiliate Chicago in his third pro season. He played 55 regular season games and three playoff contests for the Wolves; missing time late in the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs with an upper-body injury. Shields scored 5 goals with 10 assists and was plus-10 with 21 penalty minutes during the season. The Wolves finished first in the Midwest Division and advanced to the second round in the playoffs. Shields had an even plus/minus with no points and 2 penalty minutes in the playoffs. He was re-signed to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent in July 2014.

Talent Analysis

Shields is your typical stay-at-home defenseman. He is not afraid to get physical, but he knows his job is to play tight defense. He has shown flashes of offensive inclinations with a heavy shot. Shields is not overly combative despite his size but is a sound positional player.

Future

Shields attended training camp with the Blues before being assigned to AHL affiliate Chicago to start the 2014-15 season. Now in his fourth season of pro hockey, he has developed into a solid if nondescript defender at the AHL level but has yet to make an NHL appearance. Overshadowed in an organization with several talented defenseman products, Shields may have a hard time cracking the Blues' lineup but could be a serviceable lower pairing defender at the NHL level in the right organization.